Dr. Whitacre

8/8/2019 Dr. Whitacre

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Edward E. Whitacre, Jr.:

Whitacre was the son of a railroad engineer and spent much of his early years shooting rabbits in the

fields and trapping frogs along the creeks near the tiny railroad town of Ennis, Texas, about 40 miles

south of Dallas. He displayed a competitive but cooperative nature even in grade school, when after

receiving a new football uniform he gave his old one to a friend so that they could practice against oneanother. In high school Whitacre was a first baseman and a defensive end in baseball and football,

respectively; he was remembered as a player who could easily overpower his opponents. Most

classmates expected that the popular Whitacre would find a job at the local railroad, perhaps going as

far as middle management. As quoted by Roger Crockett in BusinessWeek , one childhood friend later

remarked, "I would never in a million years have thought that he would go on to do such big things'"

(April 12, 1999). But someone else did want something better for him: his father told him to go to

college; he would eventually be the first person in his family to do so.

Whitacre began his career with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company under more legitimate terms in

September 1963 as a facility engineer in Lubbock, Texas. In 1964 he earned his bachelor's degree in

industrial engineering from Texas Tech University. He progressed through numerous assignments within

Southwestern Bell's operational departments in Arkansas, Kansas, and Texas. In July 1977 Whitacre was

named assistant vice president of engineering and network services in Dallas, Texas.

Beginning in September 1982 Whitacre was made president of Southwestern Bell's Kansas division,

which he led through the breakup and sale of the Bell conglomerate. In March 1985 he moved to

corporate headquarters, where he served as group president in charge of all of the company's

nontelephone operations. In April 1986 he was named vice president of public affairs and revenues and

had responsibilities for Southwestern Bell's federal and state regulatory and legislative initiatives. In

October of the same year Whitacre joined Southwestern Bell's board of directors and was named vice

chairman and chief financial officer.

In October 1988, after convincing the board members of his cooperability, straightforwardness, and

toughness, Whitacre was made president and chief operating officer of Southwestern Bell. In that

position he was responsible for the operation of the company's six main subsidiaries. On January 1,

1990, Whitacre became chairman of the board and chief executive officer. He had also been a director

of Southwestern Bell since October 1986, the chairman of the Executive Committee, and a member of

the Corporate Development Committee and the Finance/Pension Committee.

Whitacre initially began his company's drive for growth in September 1994, when a name change

occurredthe new name, SBC Communications, would better identify the company as a diversified,global communications company. The passing of the Telecommunications Act in February 1996 provided

Whitacre with the ability to rapidly increase SBC's growth as a national communications provider. (The

Telecommunications Act of 1996 allowed any communications company to compete in any market in

the United States, thus removing the restrictions that had previously limited where such companies

were allowed to operate.) Whitacre guided SBC through an era of unbelievable expansion, leading a

series of mergers, acquisitions, and formations that dramatically changed the telecommunications



landscape. Among these acquisitions were those of Pacific Telesis Group in 1997 for $17 billion (the first

merger of former Bell companies); Southern New England Telecommunications in 1998 for $4.4 billion;

Comcast Cellular in 1999; Ameritech in 1999 for $62 billion (at the time, the largest telephone-industry

deal); and Bell-South in 2000.

The deal struck by Whitacre to obtain the San Franciscobased Pacific Telesis formed an 118,000-employee telecommunications company serving the country's two most populous states, California and

Texas, and seven of the country's top 10 markets. The Comcast deal introduced additional service areas

in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey and 800,000 customers. The Ameritech deal allowed

Whitacre to enter the $80 billion long-distance business and 30 U.S. markets outside its existing

regionsmaking the company the leading U.S. provider of local telecommunications service and giving

it access to the top 50 markets in the United States. In 1999 the company engaged in a $6 billion

initiative called Project Pronto that allowed fiber-optic networks to become available to about 80

percent of its customers, many of them rural customers without previous access to such advanced

products and services.

Whitacre expanded SBC into the worldwide wireless communications business with investments in

Teléfonos de México (Telmex), Bell Canada, and Telkom South Africa. The Telmex partnership, which

provided local, long-distance, and wireless service to Mexican customers, solidified SBC's position as a

strong international player and acted as a catalyst for additional global ventures.

Such expansion allowed Whitacre, once dubbed Baby Bell's Acquisition King, to offer long-distance

service in all of the 13 states in SBC's primary region. As a result the company was capable of capitalizing

on new opportunities in voice and data revenue, maximizing market competitiveness, markedly

strengthening the company's already impressive portfolio of products, upgrading its national data and

Internet Protocol strategy and networks, and improving efficiency throughout its network.

When uncertain times prevailed within the telecommunications industry during the recession years of

20002002, Whitacre set SBC apart from other telecommunications companies by promoting its

financial strength and stability. Such advertising campaigns as "Who We Are" aggressively emphasized

SBC's commitment to the customers and communities it served. Whitacre proudly touted SBC's system

of world-class networks across the United States and the common desirable qualities that each affiliate

brought to the SBC family of companies.

In 1999 Whitacre introduced the SBC brand to customers across the country, eliminating regional

brandssuch as Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell, Nevada Bell, and Ameritechto make way for the

single, unifying national brand of SBC. Whitacre wanted to make it as easy as possible for SBC'scustomers to find and do business with SBC companies nationwide. With the introduction of the

nationally recognizable name, Whitacre had fully transformed SBC into a major communications-

services company.

SBC was named the World's Most Admired Telecommunications Company by Fort une magazine for the

sixth consecutive year in 2003, having held the top spot since the award was first introduced. Fort une

also named SBC as America's Most Admired Telecommunications Company for the seventh time in eight



years. Whitacre continued to create long-term value for company shareowners by providing reliable and

innovative telecommunication servicesa task that was successfully accomplished by Whitacre and his

predecessors for over one hundred years.

Whitacre was once named among the Top 25 Executives of the Year by BusinessWeek and was listed as

one of the Best CEOs in America by W orth magazine. Within his company, Whitmore was a member of SBC Pioneers, a volunteer group dedicated to making a significant difference in communities served by

SBC companies. He also earned a number of awards for his contributions to business, educational, and

civic programs, including the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce's Freeman Award, the Spirit of

Achievement Award from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, and the International

Citizen of the Year Award from the San Antonio World Affairs Council. He was inducted into the Texas

Business Hall of Fame and the American Academy of Achievement.

Whitacre concentrated on promoting diversity within SBC companies and suppliers. Fort une and

W or king W oman magazines, along with the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, the National

Minority Business Council, and the National Minority Supplier Development Council, recognized these

efforts. Whitacre and SBC Communications were presented with the Ron Brown Award, the sole

presidential corporate-leadership award, to commend the company's supplier diversity program.

On April 27, 2007, at the AT&T annual stockholders meeting, Whitacre announced his intent to retire as

chief executive officer and chairman of the board, effective June 3. The board of directors elected

Randall Stephenson to succeed Whitacre as new CEO and chairman. Whitacre retired on June 4, 2007,

with Stephenson taking over the following morning.

In May 2008, Whitacre was elected to the board of directors for ExxonMobil.

On June 9, 2009, General Motors named Whitacre as chairman. He took the position when theautomaker emerged from bankruptcy proceedings on July 10, 2009. On December 1, 2009, Whitacre

became interim CEO following Fritz Henderson's resignation. Since taking the helms, he has been

dubbed the GM Reaper by many in blogs, noted for his strong desire to "kill off" brands and projects,

such as Saab and a sub-Volt Toyota Prius competitor planned for Chevrolet, and get back to basics. In

January 2010, chairman Whitacre was appointed CEO after serving in the post in an interim capacity. He

recently left the position on September 1, 2010, before the planned initial public offering of stock for

General Motors and remains on the board until December 31, 2010. Dan Akerson follows in Whitacres

footsteps as GMs CEO. Whitacre, known for building AT&T Inc. into the biggest U.S. provider of

telephone service, had described steering the nations largest automaker after bankruptcy as a public

service.

Eds vision of simplifying the business, of giving people the authority and accountability to do their jobs

and keeping them focused on designing, building and selling the worlds best vehicles has served a new

GM extremely well, Akerson said in an article with Bloomberg.com.



In summary:

After 44 years of successful service with SBC & AT&T, Mr. Whitacre was named the CEO of General

Motors. He was selected based on his diligence, attention to detail, and decisive management style

which helped him to rebuild AT&T into the largest telecommunication company in the world. These

qualities helped him overhaul GMs management and brands. The company earned $1.3 billion andreturned to profitability in the one year of his tenure. Given these accomplishments, he felt that his task

of rebuilding the GM brand was complete, and it was time to step down and allow the company to

prepare for its highly anticipated initial public stock offering. Mr. Whitacre is truly an engineer of

success.

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Dr. Whitacre